Tulips
by A Caccia Di Stelle
Summary: She hates flowers. All but tulips, that is. No one knows why, it's just how it is.


It was a day to remember in the Twelfth Division, for some poor fool had been brave, very brave.

Haji had only seen the Lieutenant a handful of times, always faithfully trailing the captain, but that had been enough for her to confiscate his heart. The girl's unrivaled beauty had caught his eye, and he had found himself more than a bit infatuated. It was this infatuation that had given him the courage to give flowers to the Twelfth Division's lieutenant. Specifically purple orchids.

He had waited until she went into her office, alone for the first time in weeks –someone always seemed to be with her. Standing at her door, Haji waited until she looked up from her paperwork and gave him permission to enter. But when seven minutes and forty-nine seconds had managed to pass without her eyes leaving the documents before her, he floundered under his impatience, clearing his throat. The lieutenant finally looked up, offering no welcoming smile, and asked:

"Yes?"

"May I come in?" He tried not to sound shy, but it managed to shine through anyways. Still unsmiling, his lieutenant nodded. He held the flowers behind his back and took one deep breath before presenting them to her. The first emotion Haji ever saw her portray was shock. Her eyes stayed slightly widened, lips slightly parted, and all the while he continued to hold the flowers out to her. In reality, it was a few mere seconds, but it felt like ages to Haji. His nerve was fading. He was about to just drop the flowers and run.

He caught a small movement in the corner of his eye -the slightest twitch of her hand. Was she about to accept? Just as Haji started to feel hopeful, a hearty laugh ruined it all. The captain of the Twelfth Division stood at the door with a fool's grin upon his painted face.

"I-Is something funny, sir?" Haji stuttered, his words failing him. The young soul reaper wracked his brain for possibilities, but he personally found nothing about the situation humorous.

"Orchids" the captain laughed again. "Well, Nemu? Aren't they lovely?" His laughing intensified. Haji felt his discomfort gaining. He was blushing too.

"Did I… Miss something sir?" he finally had to ask.

"Boy, I advise you learn something about a person before you give them something," the captain replied.

"I… Don't understand, sir."

"Oh you poor fool," the captain sighed. "She hates flowers."

There was supposedly a list of things females typically liked. Puppies, chocolate, jewelry, flowers. Nemu didn't like any sort of animal, they were too time consuming. Chocolate… Well, Nemu was addicted to sweets (as most were). As for jewelry, she didn't mind a few piece choices (such as the crimson chocker she wore), but she could live without it. And then there was flowers.

How she _hated _them. It wasn't because of some bad childhood experience like most would think. She just strongly disliked them. They were pointless to her, even when people used them for an occasion. The plant sat in a vase in some obvious place for a few days and then died and was tossed away. The only brand of these 'lovely' things she could stand was tulips. Red tulips, symbolizing ever lasting love.

Nemu wasn't obsessed with love so it wasn't their meaning she liked. Their color, red, could be an aspect since she was quite fond of the color, but this still wasn't the reason. It wasn't so much the flower itself as it was the memory of it she had.

* * *

><p><em>Three days into December, Nemu had found herself trailing after her captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, back to the Twelfth Division after a captain and lieutenant's meeting. The world had turned white and cold due to the first snow fall the day before. Any other color contrasted against the white and was magnified, making it more noticeable, and that's how Nemu saw the small spot of red. Her thoughts immediately jumped to blood and so she craned her neck to see.<em>

_It wasn't blood, but whatever it was poked out of the snow and Nemu found herself genuinely curious. _

_She spoke with respect, but no emotion. "What is that, Master Mayuri?" _

_"What's what?" He had snapped. "Be specific. I can't read your mind."_

_"The spot of red in the field." She'd stopped walking now, transfixed on this object. The silence that should've been filled with her footsteps halted him. Heaving an annoyed hiss, he turned around prepared to scold her until he saw the look on her face; one of child-like curiosity that he hadn't seen in quite a while. The cruel man's expression softened. He looked out to the white field, examining it. His eyes saw nothing at first, and he started to tell her to quit making things up or he would be conducting a number of painful tests to check her brain functions, until his eyes caught the small, single spot of red…_

_Oh… _

_Mayuri sighed. "Stupid girl. Come," he commanded, waving a hand to motion for her to follow as they crossed the field. The snow was cold against her feet as she walked. "This," her creator said as he plucked the thing from the ground, "is a flower. Specifically a tulip." _

_Nemu had heard of flowers, seen a few even. Roses, lilies, and sunflowers. Kuchiki Rukia had shown her roses, Hinamori Momo had shown her lilies, and Ise Nanao had shown her sunflowers. While Nemu thought of all of the girls fondly, she had found the flowers they'd shown her dull and uninteresting._

_She didn't know if it was the person holding the flower or the flower itself, but the tulip was different from the other flowers she had been introduced to. Instead of finding it measly and ugly, she found that it had a quiet beauty. _

_"Does it mean something?" She asked. Momo had said that flowers almost always meant something. _

_"Everlasting love," he said. Mayuri surprised Nemu by taking her hand and bringing it to the flower. At his will, her fingers curled around the stem. "Keep it," he told her. _

_Nemu saw the meaning behind Mayuri's actions and words, a privilege only she had, and nodded. "Always, Mayuri," she breathed, awed by the hidden meaning. It was risky to use his name, especially in public, but she was pleasantly surprised he did not reprimand her._

_He graced her cheek with a rare kiss. "Come now, we have work to do." _

_She followed him back to their headquarters. _

_The tulip was placed in a small plastic cover after it died and became not only her favorite book mark, but one of her most prized possessions._

* * *

><p>Haji had never been so embarrassed; his ears burned with shame.<p>

"It's also rude to make advancements towards another man's woman. You're a very inconsiderate young man," the captain said as he walked across the room. He came to stand beside the lieutenant. _Nemu, _Haji reminded himself sadly.

The captain eyed the orchids in Haji's hand, and then went on. "I'll not have such a weak hearted fool in my division. Nemu, have him transferred to the Eighth. Captain Kyoraku should have more sympathy for his sentimentality."

Haji hoped that Nemu would object, tell her captain it had all been just a misunderstanding and he could go back to work if they were all willing to overlook it. Haji tasted the bitterness of disappointment when Nemu reached for a small stack of papers and replied, "Yes, Captain."

* * *

><p><strong>LATER THAT NIGHT<strong>

"May I ask something?" Nemu asked as she placed her captain's plate down in front of him.

"Make it quick," he said.

"Why did you transfer the soul reaper? It is unlike you to let something that may be of use one day go over such a simple incident." She took her seat across from him.

"I don't like when others tamper with my things," he answered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I own nothing. **


End file.
